Nochevieja en Valencia – my first one!

The last few years I have had quiet nights at home or at a friend’s house; but, for my first year in Valencia, I wanted to go out and sample what the city had to offer. So I got dressed up (but not wearing red undies – oops!) and headed out to have some fun.

A few friends and I went to El Puerto de Valencia restaurant, where they put on an event with dinner, a drag queen show, and dancing after the meal. I have to say the venue and the meal were not quite what I expected, I think I was expecting something a bit more “grand” whereas the only word that comes to mind to describe it is “normal”. The drag act was entertaining although not quite spectacular, which is a shame because the Spanish word for “show” is “espectáculo”. The disco after the meal was what I expected, but I had the idea that it would be similar to something like a wedding or work event disco.

On the basis of what the venue laid on for the night. If I were going to rate solely on that I would probably give the place a 5 out of 10 for just being a bit “blah”. But the thing is, I had fun! Being out with my friends, on my first New Years Eve in Spain was exciting for me. The drag queen made me laugh (I’d give him a 7). We had fun dressing up in the wigs, hats and silly glasses they handed out just before midnight. And, most importantly, I finished all 12 grapes and two-thirds of a bottle of cava!!

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At around 2:30 we left El Puerto and went to a club called Jerusalem near Plaça Espanya. Originally we couldn’t find a restaurant with a dinner and disco all together so we had bought tickets the get into the club, once we found a dinner venue we decided to still go on to the club afterwards since the club was closing around 2 hours later than the restaurant.

Our plan to dance the night away until the sun came up didn’t quite pan out as expected. We didn’t end up staying long at the club. It turns out that they had advertised a different kind of music on the site that sold the tickets – naughty! I am a music lover and I enjoy a variety of genres, but the problem was that in this particular club, on this particular night, variety is what was lacking.

the problem was that in this particular club, on this particular night, variety is what was lacking.

If I hadn’t already had a chance to shake my booty in the restaurant I would have been very disappointed; as it was I was only “a bit” disappointed (and I kinda just wished we’d stayed at the restaurant for the final hour and a half). I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am writing off Jerusalem entirely and never going back, but let’s just say their promotional partners (xceed.com) did them a disservice with the false advertising and it has not made a good first impression.

We left around 4am, which is early by Spanish standards – especially on a big night like Nochevieja – but all in all I had a good night and I cannot complain. I started 2018 where I want to be, with great new friends and a smile on my face. That’s what matters.

Hi, I’m Henissi!

I’m a born and bred London girl but last year (2016) I decided that since I was still single and “untethered” by children or a mortgage at the ripe old age of 34 I might as well take the plunge and do something adventurous and interesting with my life. I studied Spanish in high school but then never used it. I would have loved to have taken a gap year after university and gone to travel South America or something like that, but I never did and I forgot most of my Spanish. So, my first thought upon asking myself “What’s something you always wanted t do but never did?” was – take a career-break to spend 3-6 months in Spain to “become fluent” in Spanish! But as I thought about things more I realised that I could actually just move to Spain… as in really move to Spain. So that’s what I decided to do.